Wednesday, 19 November 2008

X Marks the Spot

I think the nature of my newly emerging obsession ("project", if you prefer) is becoming clearer. Not in the sense that I could tell you what it is, but in the sense that I am starting to know when something fits in. This is quite an exciting point in the process that may, or may not, lead to another completed sequence of images. Suddenly, it's Game On.

Quite often, the seed of the new thing is there to be seen (with the benefit of hindsight) in something already completed. For example, today I saw this in the car park, as I was leaving work:

It is almost a mirror opposite of this, an image from exactly the same location taken a few years ago, which became part of my Brilliant Corners sequence:

I didn't "know" this connection at the front of my mind at 3:00 pm, but I do now, and I love it. This kind of thing either excites you, or leaves you cold. It's true that there is a hint of madness in scouring the world for Signs and Connections (of what, exactly? The Templars and the location of the Holy Grail?) ... But the whole point of a game is to re-enchant the world, and the funny thing is that the world does seem to respond: it wants to play, too.

But, at bottom, as Garry Winogrand said: "I have a burning desire to see what things look like photographed by me." And if you're thinking, "Yes, but I'd rather see pictures of people," then why not get yourself a camera and take some? I also have a burning desire to see what things look like when photographed by you.